Among Cloud Peak's many battle beasts, the one most adept at expressing emotions through facial expressions was undoubtedly Teacher Park's Three-nosed Elephant.
That fellow, though its intelligence had declined after a severe head injuryâmaking it childlikeâhad an incredibly vivid range of expressions on its elephant face!
To put it simply, joy, anger, sorrow, and happinessâevery emotion could be conveyed so clearly that anyone could empathize just by looking.
Next came Yangos and Yellow Ball.
As for those with expressionless faces, there were plenty. But the Undead Dragon-fish undoubtedly took first place.
It couldnât be helpedâas an undead creature, it simply lacked the biological functions to form expressions.
Yet just now, on that still-incomplete face, the Undead Dragon-fish had clearly smiled.
Mockery, scorn, ridicule, disdain⊠it was all there.
The sight filled Cloud Peakâs members with delight, while Hidden Snake Journeyâs people paled in horror.
The Mercury Centipede reared half its body up, its head pointed toward the Undead Dragon-fish as it let out a sharp, piercing shriek.
It was afraid.
The Mercury Centipede was far from a top-tier battle beast. Its combat style and skill potency relied entirely on its evolution level. Its current strength was likely only due to being nurtured in a Miniature Beast Pool.
When it realized its full arsenal of attacks hadnât killed its opponent, it panicked.
The Undead Dragon-fish moved.
Instinctively, the Mercury Centipede dodged to the side.
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But nothing happened. The Undead Dragon-fish merely flicked one of its skeletal wings.
A wave of laughter erupted from Cloud Peakâs side.
Many among Hidden Snake Journey averted their eyes.
They all knewâthis battle was over. If nothing else, in terms of mentality, Little Adamâs meticulously raised centipede had already lost.
The Undead Dragon-fish flashed that smile again and waved its tattered claw.
This blatant provocation enraged the Mercury Centipede. It sprayed venom once more, then transformed into a silver streak of lightning, renewing its assault.
The venom corroded the Undead Dragon-fishâs flesh, turning it into pools of pus that dripped down its bodyâa horrifying sight.
At the same time, the number of wounds on its body multiplied, as if all its newly grown flesh was being scraped away.
Yet the Undead Dragon-fish stood unshaken. At a certain moment, it suddenly reached out and seized the Mercury Centipede in its claw.
The level eight multi-legged creature was flung into the air like a silver whip.
The Mercury Centipede struggled, but after a few casual shakes from the Undead Dragon-fish, it went limp.
"Get up! Get up! Do you want me to kill you?! Kill this monster! One more attack and itâs finished!"
Little Adam clung to desperate hope, convinced the Undead Dragon-fish was at its limit. He believed his battle beast could still win if it just held on a little longer.
But this delusion was crushed by the Undead Dragon-fishâs next move.
It slammed the Mercury Centipede to the ground, then stomped on it with its massive body. Instantly, the once-dominant opponent crumpled like paper, its supposedly indestructible silver exoskeleton proving fragile as cardboard.
Fluids oozed from the cracks in the centipedeâs shell and its mouth. By all logic, it shouldnât have survived.
The Undead Dragon-fish grabbed the dying centipede, tore open its maw, and split its body in two.
Then, it rummaged inside, doing something indiscernible, before rubbing the corpse against its own body.
Both Cloud Peak and Hidden Snakeâs Journey watched in bewilderment, trying to decipher what the Undead Dragon-fish was doing.
"Itâs smearing the centipedeâs venom onto its own bones."
Though Red-Hair had temporarily lost her mental link with the Undead Dragon-fish, they were still the closest of partners. She was the first to understand her mountâs intentions.
Since the Undead Dragon-fish was doing this, there had to be a reason. No one questioned whyâinstead, they pondered the implications of its earlier performance.
The Mercury Centipedeâs strength was far from as lacking as it had seemed. Against any other battle beast besides the Undead Dragon-fish, such an effortless victory wouldâve been impossible.
That included Yangos and Yellow Ball.
Yet the Undead Dragon-fish had done it. Why?
On the surface, it seemed simple and brutal. But upon closer thought, one could grasp the terrifying prowess it now possessed.
To accurately seize the lightning-fast Mercury Centipede mid-movement required vision and reflexes beyond ordinary battle beasts.
And how much did the Undead Dragon-fish weigh now, with its partially regrown flesh? Aside from the White Cave Crystal, its body consisted of little more than sparse meat.
How heavy could those be? Certainly not enough to crush a level eight creature with a hardened exoskeleton through sheer weight alone.
So where did the difference lie?
The answer came quickly.
Its bones!
Those once-blackened bonesânow being polished with the corpse of a peer!
Dragon Spirit Saint Bones?
Yangos propped itself up, its expression complicated as it stared at its companion. It uttered a term from its memoryâa power exclusive to the royal lineage of dragonkind!
Ye Zhongming and the others turned to the foul-mouthed dragon.
"Among the dragon monarchs, there exists a unique innate abilityâone only certain pureblooded royals can manifest."
Yangosâ tone was uncharacteristically solemn.
"This ability is called Dragon Spirit Saint Bones. When a royal with this power suffers severe injuries, they can activate it during recovery, transforming their bones into Spirit Saint Bones. The method involves slaying another creature and using its life energy to drastically reinforce their skeletal structure, resulting in a body far more formidable post-recoveryâeven surpassing the bone strength of their actual evolution level."
Yangos watched as the Undead Dragon-fish discarded the desiccated centipede husk and strode down from the energy arena. Instinctively, it bowed its head slightly.
Was this thing some deceased royal ancestor of my kind reborn?
"Stronger bones naturally mean a stronger body. Among dragonkind, any royal who awakens this one-time ability will, upon using it, surpass all others of their race in physical might."
The dragonâs explanation ended there, but four words echoed in everyoneâs minds:
Surpassing dragonkind itself!
Dragons were already the most physically formidable mutated lifeforms. To exceed themâjust how monstrous would that be?!
"Beast battleâvictory goes to Cloud Peak! Per the rules and the opponentâs reward enhancement, the rewards are: Battle Beast A8-tier, and Cloud Peak B8-tier!"